Chapter 290 With Interest, the Real Beginning
Her hair was scattered like clouds, as if strands of affection were woven on bright yellow brocade.
Ji Qingwu blinked slowly, regaining her senses. Her eyes, washed clean by tears, looked at the emperor.
But instead of the intimacy and tenderness that followed, Emperor Wusu put on his nightgown and got out of bed.
All the moves I had prepared were useless; I was like a delicate flower pierced by icy rain, utterly defenseless.
Ji Qingwu rubbed her sore eyes. The strands of hair by her ears were wet and sticky on her face, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She smoothed her hair and tried to sit up.
But my aching back and legs made it impossible for me to exert any force.
Watching him walk out into the room, his steps strong and light, she pouted, and her eyes welled up with tears again.
Pain mingled with resentment.
Not long after, the bedding on the bed sank, and Zhao Mingyan sat down in front of her again, having gone to the outer room to retrieve something.
Ji Qingwu glanced at him, her eyes glistening with a pitiful, watery light.
But upon seeing what he held in his hand, she immediately held back her tears.
Zhao Mingyan's eyes had cleared considerably, no longer dark and gloomy, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
However, this smile, though seemingly indifferent, is actually an insatiable desire born from having tasted its sweetness.
That smile clearly comes from genuine joy.
But in Ji Qingwu's eyes, it carried a certain cruel meaning, and she involuntarily shuddered.
Her body remembered that he had that smile on his face, gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his calloused fingertips, softly coaxing her to relax, and then...
"Ah Wu, do you still remember?"
His deep, hoarse voice sounded above her head, and Ji Qingwu's whole body shuddered, her lower abdomen even cramping slightly.
How could Ji Qingwu not remember what Emperor Wusu was holding?
This was the Deer Cry Banquet after Li Chengxun passed the imperial examination with flying colors. The green belt on the ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) she wore when she went to the banquet was the style with an open front.
It fell into the lotus pond and I couldn't find it when I looked for it again.
He had kept it all along.
Zhao Mingyan bent down, and Ji Qingwu watched as the emerald green ribbon swept across her chest.
Its tail floated on her round navel.
Ji Qingwu tightened her lower abdomen, her eyes darting around nervously.
We know what will happen, but we don't know in what form it will happen.
Zhao Mingyan's hand traced the winding path of the belt along her body, slowly sliding down.
The silk of the belt was smooth, but it couldn't compare to the delicate skin on her waist. With the slightest touch, it slid right off her body.
The emperor picked up the belt that had fallen onto the bright yellow brocade quilt, and rubbed it between his fingertips, as if he were reminiscing about the scene.
“What I wanted to do at the time was not just to tear it off.”
Whatever you wanted to do back then, or didn't do back then, you've already done it now...
Seeing the smile on his lips deepen, Ji Qingwu sensed danger.
Her voice still nasal from crying, she quickly said, "What Your Majesty needed to do, you should have already done."
Emperor Wusu remained noncommittal.
He lowered his eyes and straightened the emerald belt in his hand, just as Ji Qingwu's charming eyes slowly widened.
It covered her still wet eyes.
Unable to see, Ji Qingwu's eyelashes trembled incessantly.
"Your Majesty, what else do you wish to do?"
"Ah Wu, there's still a score we need to settle. What do you think?"
Feeling that her hands were also bound by the silk cloth, Ji Qingwu struggled uneasily, only to have her wrists lifted and pressed above her head.
Ji Qingwu belatedly realized what the emperor meant by this "debt".
One night in the military tent.
He wanted to get back what she had done to him, with interest.
Le Xi, the emperor's uncle, was right. Emperor Wusu was adept at concealing his true intentions; when he didn't lash out, you could never guess what he was thinking. But if you angered him, he would definitely retaliate.
Ji Qingwu thought that his visit just now was enough, but he did not expect that in the emperor's eyes, what happened before was just an appetizer, and what happened now was the real beginning.
She quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I was just... just in a moment of panic..."
A finger pressed firmly against her lips, stopping her from speaking, and then gently rubbed her cupid's bow before removing it.
"Okay, we'll talk about it later."
Ji Qingwu didn't know what expression Emperor Wusu had when he said these words, but hearing the expectant tone in his voice, she panicked. What would she do if she didn't live to say it later?
Blindfolded, she pleaded pitifully, "Let's talk now... shall we talk now?"
The man's voice suddenly turned cold.
"Are you sure you want to tell me about your past with Wei Ting in the northern border at this time?"
Zhao Mingyan stroked her head and flicked her earlobe with his index finger.
"Awu, if you don't want me to really hurt you, then don't say anything more."
Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together tightly, not daring to mention it again.
This time he was particularly patient, as if he knew that the easy prey was not going to escape, and the process of taking it into his stomach became even more agonizing.
*
Ji Qingwu felt that he had been living in a daze all along.
After being blindfolded, I could no longer distinguish between dreams and reality.
The scent of ambergris at the tip of the nose has transformed into the captivating fragrance of lotus.
Ji Qingwu found that he could open his eyes, but found himself in a dark abyss.
She turned her eyes, searching for the source of the fragrance, and as soon as she looked down, she found herself transformed into a lotus flower, growing in a deep abyss with flowing water.
The flowing water reflected her image, which was still that of a fiery red lotus flower.
Although there was no sunshine, the water that nourished her was warm, and she closed her eyes contentedly as she soaked in the warm water.
Soon, something came to disturb her. Ji Qingwu shook the straight pole, trying to drive it away so as not to disturb her peace.
Seeing that she ignored him and instead hid away, it only fueled her interest further.
Ji Qingwu opened his eyes in dissatisfaction and found a huge black dragon in front of him, with thick, shiny scales.
He lifted his eyelids, lazily looked at her, and casually asked, "When did a little lotus flower grow?"
The creature was too small, so the Xuanlong didn't touch her directly with its claws, but instead used the whiskers next to its head.
Ji Qingwu opened her mouth, but found that she could not make a sound. She gathered her leaves and branches, not wanting to pay attention to his teasing.
Xuanlong said majestically, "You didn't even say hello before growing in my territory and blocking my way back. You little thing have quite a temper."
After saying that, Xuanlong plunged completely into the abyss.
The giant object plunged into the water, its tail swaying and splashing water all over the pool, accompanied by sounds of wind and thunder. Ji Qingwu was completely soaked.
She angrily shook off the water droplets, and almost simultaneously, her roots, embedded deep in the abyss, stirred.
The stem is not as delicate as the lotus petals, and it was mercilessly pried and scratched several times with claws.
The branches above swayed, making her dizzy, and the water rippled.
She looked down and could vaguely see the shape of a black dragon coiled beneath the flowing water.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
